Olive Garden just signaled an ominous threat to the restaurant industry

Tony Malloy/FlickrThe restaurant industry needs some bloodletting, according to the CEO of a major restaurant chain.

The CEO of Darden Restaurants, the owner of chains such as Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, said in the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday that the restaurant industry needs to see some changes in order to become healthy again.

"I would say that as we think about the industry, we prepare our plans, and we assume the industry is going to stay where the industry is going to stay," Lee said. "We're not assuming the industry is going to get a whole lot better."

Lee cited consumer uncertainty for driving down sales as well.

"I think there is some real uncertainty in the near term here, but that's going to pass, and from a consumer standpoint, I think we're focused on the long term" said Lee.

Lee said the closure of some restaurants in the industry at large could help to improve the outlook for everyone.

"I'm hoping that more inventory will come out of the system," Lee said. "We've seen some big announcements of closures lately, and I also think that if you drive down the road you're starting to see more restaurants closed. You also see more restaurants opened, but we could use some inventory to come out. That would be helpful."